Google Maps

The Omnipotent Engineers at Google Have Banished Clouds From Earth

Google Earth may give us a real, live view of what our blue marble actually looks like, but even reality could stand to be improved a bit now and then. So to make sure you get the beautiful summer you deserve—while you’re sitting inside a dark room hunched over your computer screen—Google has taken steps…

Pigeon-Headed Humans Prank Google Street View In Japan

When the Google Street View team rolled through Tokyo recently, a bunch of writers from a Japanese humor website were there with these eerie pigeon masks. The “human pigeons” then stood around gawking at the Google van, and here are the weird results.

An algorithm that finds face-like structures on the Earth’s surface

A new software program called GoogleFaces uses Google Maps and facial recognition software to isolate geographic structures that look like human faces. It’s far from perfect, but the program has uncovered some remarkably face-like surface features. Humans are good at picking out faces from everyday objects and structures — a characteristic known as pareidolia; we…

The Destruction of the Oklahoma Tornado As Seen by Google Maps

This is beyond sad. If you’ve been keeping up with the tornado that leveled Moore, Oklahoma, you probably saw the destruction it left behind. It looked like a movie set war zone or the aftermath of the apocalypse. But it was real. Google released satellite imagery showing what the destruction looked like from above. It’s…

You Can Use Google Maps to Find Faces Hidden in the Earth

It’s nearly impossible to gaze up during the day without spotting sort of cloudy, billowing face staring back at us. But rarely do we get the opportunity to see the faces we so casually trample right beneath our feet. Now, a new program by Onformative is giving us a bird’s eye’s view of every facial…

How Google Maps Helped a Chinese Abductee Find His Family

Over 23 years ago, Luo Gong—just five years old at the time—was on his way to kindergarten in the Sichuan region of China, when he was abducted and taken over 1,000 miles to Fujian in the southeast. But now, he’s used the power of internet to find his family again. A Fujian news service, Nhaidu,…

New Google Maps Hands-On: Maps Have Never Been This Cool

Amongst the the deluge of new stuff Google announced today, there was a rather large update to Maps. We took a good look at it earlier, but we just spend some time putting our hands all over it. The verdict? You’re in for a treat. https://gizmodo.com/google-i-o-whats-new-in-android-chrome-and-beyond-506734952 When you first open the new version of Maps,…

The New Google Maps: Flat, Clean, and Built Just for You

Although not much has changed with Google Maps mobile services, the desktop app just got redesigned from the ground up in what is, essentially, the biggest overhaul since Maps’ initial launch almost eight years ago. More specifically, though, Google wants to give you your very own map “built for you.” Gone is the navigation sidebar,…

Guess Where You Are in the World with Google Street View

Think you know your geography? Think you know what a country looks like? What if you were dropped in the middle of no where and had to figure out where you were? That’s what GeoGuessr is. It’s an insanely fun game that gives you an image from Google Street View and asks you to point…

Is This the New Google Maps?

Google is supposedly working on a redesign of Google Maps that’ll kill the all familiar sidebar and replace it with a full screen map. It’s a cleaner look that already makes the current constricted layout seem dated. The unofficial Google System blog reports that in addition with a full screen map, Google will also add…

Whoa, Did Google Maps Just Reveal a Bloody Gruesome Murder?

Google Maps, the all seeing eye that can find naked pranksters, possible donkey hit and runs and other more serious crimes, may have just stumbled upon a bloody crime scene. The image shows what looks to be two people dragging a corpse and leaving a bloody trail on a pier. https://gizmodo.com/google-street-view-captured-a-couple-getting-naked-in-a-5981044 After seeing the picture,…

A Brief History of the Google Maps Pegman

You might not think of him very often, but you know the Google Maps pegman quite well. Every time you zoom down into a new, strange locale, he’s there, pointing the way. But where did he come from? Buzzfeed FWD dug into the history, and it turns out there’s a lot more of it than…

US Court Rules That Checking Maps on Your Phone While Driving Is a Bad Thing

So, we all know that we shouldn’t text while driving. But in case you thought that checking Google Maps was acceptable, a Californian judge has made it clear that isn’t the case. Despite the fact that many cars have touchscreen satellite navigation systems, a Californian appeals court has ruled that using a mobile phone to…

Google Maps Reinterpreted as Intricate Persian Rugs are Beautifully Complex

Sometimes, Google Maps throws up some striking imagery—and now David Thomas Smith has seized on some of the more striking elements to create a series of artworks that combine satellite images with inspiration from traditional Persian rug-making. The results are stunning. Smith’s first solo show, called Anthropocene, shows off eight such works, each as complex…

Google Maps unveils “Treasure Mode”

Guys. YOU GUYS. Treasure. Google Maps now has a Treasure Mode. For finding gold and stuff. Last year, Google’s street view team discovered a treasure map belonging to infamous pirate William “Captain” Kidd, while shooting footage for their underwater streetview collection beneath the waves of the Indian Ocean. Now, Google has used its custom 3D…

This Secret Google Maps Gesture Is Totally Brilliant

So this is great. Google might have the smartest new gesture we’ve seen in a while: a smart, simple way to zoom in and out with one hand. Just double tap the screen with your thumb—anywhere on the screen is fine—and on the second tap, hold your finger down. Now slide your finger up and…

A Pretty Little Map of All The San Francisco Apartments You Can’t Afford

The Internet is a great place to look at things you can’t have, and this clever map that cross indexes San Franscico real estate listings with location fits snugly in that category. At least the nicer districts do. The “Median Rent” map by Stephanie May takes a half-year’s worth of listing data, and boils it…

Google Maps’ New Mountain Summit Street View Lets You Peek Off the Peaks You’ll Never Climb

Face it, you’re no mountaineer. Unless you are, in which case congrats. But for the rest of us, there’ll be no mountain-top revelations to make our souls take flight. Not in real life anyway. But Google Map’s new summit shots are the next best thing. Google’s Dan Fredinburg, program manager and mountaineer, lead Google Mountain…

The long-awaited Google Maps for iOS just got its first update with searchable contacts and suggested categories galore.

Hell Yes: Google Maps Has Ski Mountain Maps Now

The Google Maps mobile app just got trail maps for 38 ski mountains in the U.S. and Canada. This is your awesome excuse to call in sick to work and take a ski day (or week). It’s such a pain to pull out that big, awkward paper trail map that gets increasingly wrinkled and soggy…